A productive backyard veggie plot depends on a lot of variables, but starting with good seedlings is definitely one of the keys to success.
Mullumbimby Farmers Market seedling supplier Pam Morrow, who has spent a lifetime raising and growing vegetables, firmly believes the strongest seedlings are those that have been raised locally and organically.
She says the mass-produced punnets you find in commercial garden centres can be artificially fast-tracked with chemical fertilisers, or grown under lights, which produces lots of plants quickly, but doesn’t necessarily produce the healthiest or most robust plant.
For the best results, Pam raises her seeds in natural conditions in her own organic mix (“it’s a lot healthier for us”, says Pam) from certified organic seeds that are sourced from local seed companies or that she has saved herself from last season’s crop.
She says this produces plants that are better adapted to our local climate and more likely to thrive.
As a small-scale producer, Pam is also able to diversify in the seedlings she grows, unlike big producers who tend to stick to the popular standard choices. Pam specialises in heirloom, or old varieties, such as her purple and white striped Listada eggplant, purple carrots, and beetroots in a rainbow of colours, from orange through to yellow (Pam’s favourite), white and candy-stripe red. Not only do they look good, they usually have a superior flavour to most big commercial varieties. “People might just like the colour when they see it, but then when they taste it, they come back and buy more,” said Pam.
Pam has also just started selling her own line of seeds, which are all saved from her own veggie patch and therefore well adapted to local conditions.
“They’re grown in our climate… and some of these would be the third generation of plants that I have grown,” she said.
Alongside her seedlings, Pam sells her own fresh and dried organic herbs and chillies, herb salt and home-grown tomato sauce and relish.
She says herbs have always been one of her favourite things to grow: “They add such amazing flavours to your food. It makes food exciting.”
PAM’S TOP TIPS
• Prepare the soil in your garden a few weeks before you plant by digging in well rotted cow manure and compost.
• Plant your seedlings in the late afternoon when it is cooler, it gives the plants time to adjust before the heat of the day.
• To help your seedlings adjust after transplanting, water them in well and mulch, and then for the next week water them morning and afternoon.
• Feed your seedlings with a seaweed solution, home made comfrey tea or cow manure tea once every couple of weeks.
• Try organic pest controls to keep bugs away. Beer traps work well for snails and slugs, grasshoppers can be controlled with regular application of neem or eco oil and dipel is a good organic control for cabbage moth.
Plant now: Snowpeas, broad beans, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, silverbeet, spinach, carrot, beetroot, mustard greens, herbs (in a sunny position)
-Words and pics by Kate O’Neill
